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CHRISTMAS

World-famous Nuremberg Christmas market cancelled over Covid-19 concerns

The German city of Nuremberg has cancelled its world-renowned Christmas market over soaring coronavirus cases, officials said on Monday.

Published: 26 October 2020 16:24 CET
World-famous Nuremberg Christmas market cancelled over Covid-19 concerns
View of the Christkindelsmarket in December 2018. Photo: DPA

The worsening pandemic has already forced a slew of other German cities,
including Berlin, Düsseldorf and Cologne, to announce they are scrapping or severely curtailing their Christmas markets.

READ ALSO: Berlin's famous Gendarmenmarkt cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

“After much deliberation and in order to protect the population, we have come to the conclusion that the Christmas market will not take place this year,” Nuremberg mayor Marcus König said in a statement.

Germany is home to some 2,500 Christmas markets each year that are popular
with visitors who come to sip mulled wine, nibble on roasted chestnuts and
shop for seasonal trinkets among clusters of wooden chalets.

They draw about 160 million domestic and international visitors annually who bring in revenues of €3 to €5 billion, according to the BSM stallkeepers' industry association.

Nuremberg's “Christkindlesmarkt”, famous for its “Christkind” Christmas
gift bringer dressed in a golden crown and robes, attracts more than two
million visitors annually.

READ ALSO: Quiz: How well do you know these festive German traditions?

It is also one of Germany's biggest and oldest such markets.

Germany has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases over the past week and has
regularly reported more than 10,000 new cases a day.

With regional disagreements hampering efforts to fight the virus, Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet the heads of Germany's 16 states on Wednesday in a bid to agree new national measures.

Merkel made a renewed plea on Saturday on citizens to limit their contacts
and avoid unnecessary travel to prevent further transmission of the virus.

“How the winter will go, how our Christmas will be, all that will be decided in the coming days and weeks,” she said.

She acknowledged that the curbs are “not only difficult but also a painful
sacrifice”.

“But we must do it only temporarily, and we're doing it for ourselves: for
our own health and that of everyone we can spare from falling ill.”

The country has recorded 437,866 cases and 10,056 deaths so far, according
to the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre.

Member comments

  1. What’s going to be the impact on Nuernbergers with this cancellation? My guess is that it’s several hundred million euros to the local economy. Businesses go bankrupt. People struggle for years due to lost income. Maybe the Christkindlmarkt is not the same for years (or ever). And this is just one tiny example. It’s very easy to believe that the cure is literally much worse than the disease.

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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